SierraVMI Sizing Guide

Transcription

1 SierraVMI Sizing Guide July 2015

2 SierraVMI Sizing Guide This document provides guidelines for choosing the optimal server hardware to host the SierraVMI gateway and the Android application server. The guidelines described in this document are based on real-world deployments with different types of Android applications. Overview SierraVMI is a Virtual Mobile Infrastructure software solution that empowers mobile users to securely access remote mobile applications hosted in a data center or in a cloud environment. SierraVMI consists of two separate components: the SierraVMI gateway and the Android application server. The SierraVMI gateway terminates SSL connections, authenticates users, and routes connections to one or more Android application servers. The Android application server hosts one or more mobile applications. While it is possible to run the SierraVMI gateway software and the Android application server on the same hardware, it is recommended that organizations install the SierraVMI gateway and the Android application software on separate server hardware. Figure 1: Standard SierraVMI Deployment The two major factors that affect hardware requirements are the number of simultaneous user sessions and the type of application being accessed. In addition, the VMI configuration mode will greatly impact hardware requirements. If organizations deploy SierraVMI in mobile app virtualization mode, with one application hosting multiple, isolated and secure user sessions, they will experience much better performance than if they deploy separate full OS virtualization with separate virtual instances for every user session. SierraVMI Sizing Guide P a g e 1

3 Choosing the right hardware depends on the understanding the characteristics of the application and the number of concurrent users accessing the SierraVMI deployment. This sizing guide is designed to help customers understand what hardware to procure to support their organization s requirements. Android Application Server Requirements The Android Application Server must perform the majority of the application hosting and encoding requirements. Therefore, the underlying hardware for the Android Application Server will often need to be more powerful that the VMI gateway hardware. The primary considerations when selecting Android Application Server hardware is: The number of concurrent user sessions - the hardware requirements scale nearly linearly with the number of apps and user sessions. The graphics rendering requirements of the app - graphics-intensive apps that use vector-based processing, such as mobile games or professional graphics programs, will require more powerful processors and graphics processing units (GPUs) than simple apps like web browsers and messaging clients. The VMI configuration mode SierraVMI supports three configuration modes: Mobile app virtualization, OS container, and Full OS virtualization. With mobile app virtualization, organizations can run multiple app instances on a single Android operating system. Each user s data is stored separately, ensuring that users can save files and settings and access them the next time they log in. Because mobile app virtualization does not need to run a separate Android VM per user, it delivers much better density than OS virtualization. As a result, mobile app virtualization reduces the number of servers needed to host VMI, lowering capital and operating costs. Android Application Server Sizing Guidelines The table below describes the recommended number of concurrent user sessions that could be hosted by a mid-range server. Note that a high-end server with more RAM and a more powerful processor would support a greater number of concurrent user sessions. Server specifications: An 8-core Intel Xeon E5 server with 16 GB RAM with an AMD Radeon 7750 GPU Number of Concurrent User Sessions Application Profile Light-weight mobile apps Web browser Medium-weight mobile apps and messaging Heavy-weight mobile apps Office suite, media player Graphics-intensive mobile apps Games, graphics programs Mobile App Virtualization OS Containers Full OS Virtualization SierraVMI Sizing Guide P a g e 2

4 When designing your VMI architecture, consider peak usage times and maximum concurrent sessions. If you have 500 users, determine how many users will access their mobile apps at a given time. Unless your users are continuously accessing their mobile apps, you can assume that the number of concurrent users with be 10 to 20 percent of total supported users. SierraVMI Gateway The processing requirements for the SierraVMI Gateway are much lower than for the Android Application Server. As a result, organizations can deploy less powerful hardware to host the SierraVMI Gateway. The major functions of the SierraVMI Gateway are SSL encryption, authentication and server load balancing. The table below describes the recommended number of concurrent user sessions that could be hosted by a low-end server. Note that a high-end server with more RAM and a more powerful processor would support a greater number of concurrent user sessions. Server specifications: o Quad-core Xeon E5 server with 8 GB of RAM Application Profile SierraVMI Gateway Number of Concurrent Users 64 SierraVMI Sizing Guide P a g e 3

5 Conclusion While every organization will deploy different mobile apps and have unique user and bandwidth requirements, this guide helps explain the expected hardware requirements for standard VMI deployments. Note that mobile application use is rising, so consider allocating additional capacity to handle mobile app usage growth. This will ensure that you can support VMI requirements today and in the future. About Sierraware Sierraware is a leading provider of virtualization and security solutions that change the way applications are accessed and data is secured. Sierraware's virtual mobile infrastructure (VMI) software empowers developers to support all mobile platforms with a single app and to protect data and monitor user activity. SierraVisor Hypervisor and SierraTEE Trusted Execution Environment for ARM TrustZone deliver embedded virtualization platforms for ARM-based architectures Oakmead Parkway Suite 210 Sunnyvale, CA United States Phone: info@sierraware.com Copyright 2015 Sierraware LLC. All rights reserved. Sierraware is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual SierraVMI Sizing Guide P a g e 4 property laws. All marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Item # SG